Vehicle control device, vehicle control method, and vehicle control system

ABSTRACT

A vehicle control device includes a communication unit configured to communicate with a plurality of autonomous driving vehicles configured to perform autonomous traveling, and a processor. The processor is configured to, when an abnormality occurs in or around at least one first autonomous driving vehicle among the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles, determine a travel instruction for controlling traveling of the first autonomous driving vehicle, transmit the travel instruction to the first autonomous driving vehicle via the communication unit, set a priority representing the degree of the priority in which an instruction operator is notified of the travel instruction in the order determined according to the content of the abnormality, notify any one of at least one instruction terminal of the determined travel instruction in the order of highest priority, and receive a result of checking the determined travel instruction from the instruction terminal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No.2018-241676 filed on Dec. 25, 2018, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle control device, a vehiclecontrol method, and a vehicle control system that control an autonomousdriving vehicle.

2. Description of Related Art

Research has been conducted on a technology for controlling anautonomous driving vehicle that can autonomously travel withoutrequiring a driver, by linking the autonomous driving vehicle to aserver which is communicably connected thereto via a communicationnetwork. For example, a technology has been proposed in which a servercauses an autonomous driving vehicle to head to a pickup location thatis designated by dispatching information, by transmitting thedispatching information to the autonomous driving vehicle via acommunication network, or in which the server tracks the autonomousdriving vehicle by receiving the current position, of the autonomousdriving vehicle transmitted from the autonomous driving vehicle via thecommunication network (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 9,547,307).

SUMMARY

While an autonomous driving vehicle is traveling, an abnormality, suchas the occurrence of an accident ahead of the autonomous driving vehicleor deterioration of the condition of a user aboard the autonomousdriving vehicle, may occur. As such, when an abnormality occurs aroundthe autonomous driving vehicle or in the autonomous driving vehicleitself, there is a possibility that the autonomous driving vehiclecannot take appropriate action.

The present disclosure provides a vehicle control device, a vehiclecontrol method, and a vehicle control system that can appropriatelycontrol an autonomous driving vehicle even when any abnormality occursaround the autonomous driving vehicle or in the autonomous drivingvehicle itself.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicle controldevice is provided. The vehicle control device includes a communicationunit configured to communicate with a plurality of autonomous drivingvehicles configured to perform autonomous traveling, and a processor.The processor is configured to, when an abnormality occurs in or aroundat least one first autonomous driving vehicle among the plurality ofautonomous driving vehicles, determine a travel instruction forcontrolling traveling of each of the at least one first autonomousdriving vehicle, transmit the travel instruction to each of the at leastone first autonomous driving vehicle via the communication unit, set apriority representing the degree of the priority in which an instructionoperator is notified of the travel instruction in the order determinedaccording to the content of the abnormality, for eh of ac the at leastone first autonomous driving, vehicle, notify any one of at least oneinstruction terminal of the determined travel instruction to the firstautonomous driving vehicle, among the at least one first autonomousdriving vehicle, in the order of highest priority, and receive a resultof checking the determined travel instruction from the at least oneinstruction terminal.

The processor may set, for each of the at least one first autonomousdriving vehicle, the priority based on at least one of a risk degreerepresenting the degree of risk that is determined according to thecontent of the abnormality of the first autonomous driving vehicle, andallowable time for checking the travel instruction to the firstautonomous driving vehicle.

The processor may set the priority higher as the risk degree is higheror the allowable time is shorter.

The processor may calculate the priority by multiplying the risk degreeby a value obtained by dividing the difference between the maximum valueof a settable allowable time and the allowable time by the maximumvalue.

In addition, the communication unit may receive state informationindicating a state of the first autonomous driving vehicle at the timewhen the abnormality occurs, for each of the at least one firstautonomous driving vehicle. The processor may set the allowable timeaccording to the state of the first autonomous driving vehicle indicatedin the state information of each of the at least one first autonomousdriving vehicle.

Furthermore, according to the content of the abnormality of each of theat least one first autonomous driving vehicle, the processor maydetermine whether to notify the travel instruction to any one of the atleast one instruction terminal after or before transmitting the travelinstruction to each of the at least one first autonomous drivingvehicle.

When the content of the abnormality is a misbehavior of an occupant, theprocessor may notify the determined travel instruction to any one of theat least one instruction terminal, receive, before transmitting thedetermined travel instruction to the first autonomous driving vehicle,the result of checking the determined travel instruction from the atleast one instruction terminal, and transmit, to the first autonomousdriving vehicle, a travel instruction determined based on the checkingresult.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a vehiclecontrol method is provided. The vehicle control method includes;determining, when an abnormality occurs in or around at least one firstautonomous driving vehicle among a plurality of autonomous drivingvehicles that is configured to perform autonomous traveling, a travelinstruction for controlling traveling of each of the at least one firstautonomous driving vehicle, transmitting the travel instruction to eachof the at least one first autonomous driving vehicle via a communicationunit configured to communicate with the plurality of autonomous drivingvehicles, setting a priority representing the degree of the priority inwhich, an instruction operator is notified of the travel instruction inthe order determined according to the content of the abnormality, foreach of the at least one first autonomous driving vehicle, notifying anyone of at least one instruction terminal of the determined travelinstruction to the first autonomous driving vehicle, among the at leastone first autonomous driving vehicle, in the order of highest priorityand receiving a result of checking the determined travel instructionfrom the at least one instruction terminal.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicle controlsystem is provided. The vehicle control system includes at least orefirst autonomous driving vehicle among a plurality of autonomous drivingvehicles that is configured to perform autonomous traveling, and avehicle control device configured to communicate with the plurality ofautonomous driving vehicles via a communication network. The vehiclecontrol device includes a processor. The processor is configured todetermine, when an abnormality occurs in or around the at least onefirst autonomous driving vehicle among the plurality of autonomousdriving vehicles, a travel instruction for controlling traveling of eachof the at least one first autonomous driving vehicle, transmit thetravel instruction to each of the at least one first autonomous drivingvehicle via the communication unit, set a priority representing thedegree of the priority in which an instruction operator is notified ofthe travel instruction in the order determined according to the contentof the abnormality, for each of the at least one first autonomousdriving vehicle, notify any one of at least one instruction terminal ofthe determined travel instruction to the first autonomous drivingvehicle, among the at least one first autonomous driving vehicle, in theorder of highest priority, and receive a result of checking thedetermined travel instruction from the at least one instructionterminal.

With each aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible toappropriately control the autonomous driving vehicle even when anyabnormality occurs around the autonomous driving vehicle or in theautonomous driving vehicle itself.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features advantages, and technical and industrial significance ofexemplary embodiments of the disclosure will be described below withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which like signs denote likeelements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vehicle control systemprovided with a vehicle control device according to one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram of vehicle control processing;

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a control system ontraveling of a vehicle;

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a server that is oneexample of the vehicle control device;

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of a processor of a server on thevehicle control processing;

FIG. 6 is one example of a reference table showing a correspondencebetween the content of an abnormality and the content of a travelinstruction; and

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an operation of the vehicle control processing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, a vehicle control device, and a vehicle control systemincluding the vehicle control device will be described with reference tothe drawings. The vehicle control device is configured to communicatewith a plurality of autonomous driving vehicles that is configured toperform autonomous traveling via a communication network. When anabnormality occurs around one or more autonomous driving vehicles amongthe plurality of the autonomous driving vehicles or in the autonomousdriving vehicles themselves, the vehicle control device remotelycontrols the autonomous driving vehicles associated with theabnormality. For the above, the vehicle control device controls theautonomous driving vehicles by preparing an instruction on travelingcontrol (hereinafter, simply referred to as a “travel instruction”) ofthe autonomous driving vehicles, corresponding to action the autonomousdriving vehicles should take with respect to the abnormality, and bytransmitting the prepared travel instruction to the autonomous drivingvehicles associated with the abnormality via the communication network.In addition, the vehicle control device sets a priority representing thedegree of the priority for notifying the travel instruction to aninstruction operator that remotely checks or determines the content ofthe travel instruction to the autonomous driving vehicles. The priorityis determined, according to it risk degree representing the magnitude ofthe influence the occurring abnormality has on the safety, and theallowable time for checking a the travel instruction with respect to theabnormality. Then, the vehicle control device notifies an instructionterminal, operated by the instruction operator, of the content of thetravel instruction transmitted to the autonomous driving vehicles,together with information indicating the state of the autonomous drivingvehicles (hereinafter, referred to as “vehicle state information”) andthe like, in the order from the autonomous driving vehicle associatedwith an abnormality with the higher priority. The vehicle stateinformation includes, for example, the vehicle speed, whether any partof the vehicle is broken, and whether the air-bag works. When theinstruction operator checks the content of the travel instruction, anddetermines that it is better to modify the content of the travelinstruction or it is better to transmit an additional travelinstruction, the vehicle control device prepares a modified or addedtravel instruction in response to an operation of the instructionoperator, and transmits the modified or added travel instruction to theautonomous driving vehicles via the communication network. As such, thevehicle control device can appropriately control the autonomous drivingvehicles even when any abnormality occurs around the autonomous drivingvehicles or in the autonomous driving vehicles themselves.

In addition, examples of the travel instruction include an instructionto designate a lane (for example, a travel lane, a passing lane, or aclimbing lane) on which the autonomous driving vehicle should travel, aninstruction to designate the upper or lower limit of the vehicle speed,an instruction to maintain the current vehicle speed, an instruction todecelerate by a designated speed, an instruction to stop the autonomousdriving vehicle, an instruction to stat t the stopped autonomous drivingvehicle, an instruction to maintain an inter-vehicle distance with avehicle traveling ahead, and an instruction to perform manual driving bya user on board (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as an “occupant”).In addition, the instruction to stop the autonomous driving vehicle mayinclude various kinds of instructions, such as an instruction to stopimmediately, an instruction to stop after pulling over onto the roadshoulder, and an instruction to stop after traveling a designateddistance. Furthermore, the travel instruction may include an instructionto travel according to the travel instruction already notified to theautonomous driving vehicle, and an instruction to cause the autonomousdriving vehicle to travel completely autonomously. Moreover, the travelinstruction may include information indicating a validity term of thetravel instruction, for example, a period during which the travelinstruction is valid after the vehicle receives the travel instruction(hereinafter, referred to as a “validity period”), or a section in whichthe travel instruction is valid (hereinafter, referred to as a “validitysection”). In addition, when the validity term or validity section ofthe travel instruction is not indicated, the travel instruction may beregarded as being valid until the next travel instruction is received.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the vehicle controlsystem provided with the vehicle control device according to oneembodiment. The vehicle control system 1 includes a plurality ofvehicles 2 that is an example of the autonomous driving vehicle that canperform autonomous traveling, and a server 3 that is an example of thevehicle control device. Each of the vehicles 2 can communicate with theserver 3 via the communication network 4 consisting of an opticalcommunication line and the like, and a wireless base station 5 connectedto the communication network 4 via a gateway (not shown). In otherwords, the wireless base station 5 relays communication between eachvehicle 2 and the server 3. In the present embodiment, since eachvehicle 2 has the same configuration on vehicle control processing, andthe server 3 applies the same vehicle control processing to each vehicle2, one vehicle 2 will be described below unless specifically needed.

The vehicle 2 may be, for example, a vehicle used for a taxi service ora ride share service, or a vehicle usable only by a specific user.Alternatively, the vehicle 2 may be used or transporting luggage. Thevehicle 2 autonomously travels along a travel route to a traveldestination, such as a location at which a user on board exits from thevehicle 2 or a location at which the user scheduled to board the vehiclehoards the vehicle 2. The travel route may be set in the vehicle 2 by anavigation system of the vehicle 2, or transmitted to the vehicle 2 fromthe server 3 via the communication network 4 and the wireless basestation 5. In addition, the vehicle 2 travels according to the travelinstruction received from the server 3 via the communication network 4and the wireless base station 5. Furthermore, when the travel route isset by the navigation system of the vehicle 2, the vehicle 2 maytransmit the travel route to the server 3 via the wireless base station5 and the communication network 4 at the time when, for example, thetravel route is set the vehicle 2 starts traveling according to the settravel route.

The server 3 tracks the vehicle 2 based on a position of the vehicle 2,received therefrom. Then, for example, when the vehicle 2 notifies theserver 3 that an abnormality has occurred, the server 3 prepares atravel instruction corresponding to the abnormality that has occurred,and transmits the prepared travel instruction to the vehicle 2 via thecommunication network 4 and the wireless base station 5.

In addition, the server 3 may be communicable with another server (notshown) that provides traffic information indicating a traffic status viathe communication network 4. Then, the server 3 may acquire the travelroute of the vehicle 2 and the traffic information around the vehicle 2from another server that provides the traffic information, via thecommunication network 4. Thereafter, with reference to the trafficinformation at the current position of the vehicle 2 and the vehiclestate in received from the vehicle 2, the server 3 detects a candidateof the abnormality that may have occurred in the vehicle 2 itself oraround the vehicle 2, and causes a monitoring operator to check whetheran abnormality has actually occurred with respect to the abnormalitycandidate. In this case, the server 3 also prepares the travelinstruction corresponding to the abnormality that has occurred, andtransmits the prepared travel instruction to the vehicle 2 via thecommunication network 4 and the wireless base station 5.

FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram of the vehicle control processing. Forexample, at predetermined intervals, the vehicle 2 transmits the currentposition of the vehicle 2, an outside-vehicle image around the vehicle2, captured by an in-vehicle camera, the vehicle state information, andthe like, to the server 3 via the wireless base station 5 and thecommunication network 4 (step S101). The server 3 detects an abnormalitycandidate in the vehicle 2 itself or around the vehicle 2 based on thereceived vehicle state information, outside-vehicle image, and trafficinformation at the current position of the vehicle 2 (step S102). Then,the server 3 transmits, to a monitoring terminal, the detectedabnormality candidate, the vehicle state information, and the like (stepS103). Thereafter, a signal representing a result of checking theabnormality candidate by the monitoring operator is transmitted, as aresponse, to the server 3 from the monitoring terminal (step S104).

On the other hand, when an abnormality that has occurred in the vehicle2 itself or around the vehicle 2 is sensed by an electronic control unit(ECU) of the vehicle 2 or the occupant of the vehicle 2, the vehicle 2notifies the server 3 of abnormality sensing information indicating thecontent of the sensed abnormality via the wireless base station 5 andthe communication network 4 (step S105). The server 3 prepares thetravel instruction according to the content of the abnormality notifiedby the vehicle 2, or the content of the abnormality detected by theserver 3 and checked by the monitoring operator (step S106). Then, theserver 3 transmits the prepared travel instruction to the vehicle 2 viathe communication network 4 and the wireless base station 5 (step S107).

Moreover, the server 3 determines the priority according to the contentof the abnormality (step S108). Then, the server 3 notifies theinstruction terminal of the content of the notified or sensedabnormality, and the content of the transmitted travel instruction (stepS109). Here, when the abnormality is notified or sensed in associatedwith a plurality of vehicles 2, the server 3 notifies the content of thetravel instruction and the like to the instruction terminal in the orderfrom the vehicle 2 with the highest priority. Then, a signalrepresenting a result of checking the travel instruction by theinstruction operator, transmitted to the vehicle 2, is transmitted, as aresponse, to the server 3 (step S110). In addition, the signalrepresenting the checking result represents, for example, confirmationof the transmitted travel instruction, or modification or addition ofthe travel instruction.

When the signal representing the checking result transmitted from theinstruction terminal represents modification or addition of the travelinstruction, the server 3 prepares the modified or added travelinstruction (step S111). Then, the server 3 transmits the modified oradded travel instruction to the vehicle 2 via the communication network4 and the wireless base station 5 (step S112).

The ECU of the vehicle 2 controls traveling of the subject vehicleaccording to the travel instruction received from the server 3 (stepS113). Upon receiving the travel instruction the ECU of the vehicle 2immediately controls traveling of the subject vehicle according to thetravel instruction. Therefore, even when the vehicle 2 first receivesthe travel instruction and then additionally receives a modified travelinstruction, the ECU starts control of traveling of the subject vehicleaccording to the travel instruction first received. Then, when receivingmodified travel instruction, the ECU controls traveling of the subjectvehicle according to the modified travel instruction.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a control system ontraveling of the vehicle 2. The vehicle 2 includes a wireless terminal21, a user interface 22, a positioning device 23, and an ECU 24. Thewireless terminal 21 the user interface 22, and the positioning device23 are communicably connected to the ECU 24 via, for example, anin-vehicle network, provided in the vehicle 2 and in conformity with astandard, such as a controller area network (CAN). Further, the vehicle2 may include an outside vehicle camera (not shown) for capturing animage of the area around the vehicle 2 and generating an outside-vehicleimage showing the area around the vehicle 2, an inside vehicle camera(not shown) for capturing an image inside the cabin of the vehicle 2 andgenerating an inside-vehicle image showing the inside of the cabin ofthe vehicle 2, an outside vehicle sensor (not shown), such as a radar oran LIDER sensor, for acquiring information on the surroundings of thevehicle 2, and a communication device (not shown) for receiving a radiosignal that represents the lighting state of a traffic signal and thatis transmitted from a roadside unit. Furthermore, the vehicle 2 mayinclude a storage device (not shown) for storing map information, andthe navigation system (not shown) for obtaining a travel route, from thecurrent position of the vehicle 2 to a travel destination, according toa predetermined route search method, such as Dijkstra's algorithm.Furthermore, the vehicle 2 further includes various sensors (not shown),such as a speed sensor for measuring the speed of the vehicle 2 and anacceleration sensor for measuring the acceleration of the vehicle 2, foracquiring information indicating the state of the vehicle 2.

The wireless terminal 21 is an example of a communication unit, andincludes, for example, an antenna, and a signal processing circuit forperforming various processes on wireless communication, such asmodulation and demodulation of a wireless signal. The wireless terminal21 receives a downlink wireless signal from the wireless base station 5,and transmits an uplink wireless signal to the wireless base station 5.In other words, the wireless terminal 21 extracts, from the downlinkwireless signal received from the wireless base station 5, a signal (forexample, a travel instruction) transmitted from the server 3 to thevehicle 2, and passes the signal to the ECU 24. In addition, thewireless terminal 21 generates an uplink wireless signal including asignal (for example, the current position of the vehicle 2, theoutside-vehicle image, the vehicle state information, and abnormalitysensing information), transmitted from the ECU 24 to the server 3, andtransmits the wireless signal.

The user interface 22 is an example of a user interface unit, anddisplays various pieces of information (for example, a map and a travelroute around the current position of the vehicle 2, a distance to ascheduled exit location, or the estimated arrival time to the scheduledexit location) for the user aboard the vehicle 2. Furthermore, the userinterface 22 generates an operation signal in response to an operationby the user aboard the vehicle 2, for example, an operation indicatingthe content of the abnormality sensed by the user, and outputs theoperation signal to the ECU 24. For the above, the user interface 22 isprovided in the cabin of the vehicle 2 and includes, for example, adisplay device, such as a liquid crystal display, and an input devicehaving one or more operation buttons. Alternatively, the user interface22 may be a device, such as a touch panel display in which the displaydevice and the input device are integrated.

The positioning device 23 is an example of a positioning unit, andmeasures the position of the vehicle 2 at predetermined intervals. Forthe above, the positioning device 23 may include, for example, areceiving device for receiving a global positioning system (GPS) signal,and an operation circuit for calculating the position of the vehicle 2from the GPS signal. Moreover, the positioning device 23 may beintegrated into the navigation system. Then, every time the positioningdevice 23 measures the position of the vehicle 2, the positioning device23 outputs the measured value to the ECU 24.

The ECU 4 is an example of a traveling control unit, and controlsautonomous-driving of the vehicle 2 and each part of the vehicle 2. Forthe above, the ECU 24 includes, for example, a communication interface241 for communicating with each part of the vehicle 2, a memory 242, anda processor 243.

The communication interface 241 has an interface circuit for connectingthe ECU 24 to the in-vehicle network. In other words, the communicationinterface 241 is connected to the wireless terminal 21, the userinterface 22, and the positioning device 23 via the in-vehicle network.Then, the communication interface 241 passes a signal received from theserver 3, such as a travel instruction taken from the wireless terminal21, to the processor 243. Similarly, the communication interface 241passes, to the processor 243, the operation signal received from theuser interface 22, the measured value of the current position of thevehicle 2 received from the positioning device 23, the outside-vehicleimage received from the outside vehicle camera, or the like. Inaddition, the communication interface 241 outputs, to the wirelessterminal 21, a signal to be transmitted to the server 3, such as theabnormality sensing information, the current position of the vehicle 2,or the vehicle state information, which are received from the processor243. Further, the communication interface 241 outputs, to the userinterface 22, a signal including information to be displayed on the userinterface 22, received from the processor 243.

The memory 242 is an example of a storage unit, and includes, forexample, a volatile semiconductor memory and a non-volatilesemiconductor memory. The memory 242 stores data, used in variousprocesses performed by the processor 243 of the ECU 24. Examples of thedata stored in the memory 242 include the current position of thevehicle 2, the travel route, the user's scheduled boarding location andscheduled exit location included in a dispatch instruction, and a travelinstruction. Furthermore, the memory 242 may store the outside-vehicleimage, an inside-vehicle image, map information, or the like.

The processor 243 includes one or more central processing units (CPUs)and peripheral circuits thereof. The processor 243 may further includeother operation circuits, such as logical operation unit, a numericaloperation unit, and a graphics processing unit. When the user hoards thevehicle 2, the processor 243 notifies the navigation system of theposition of the vehicle 2, measured by the positioning device 23, at thetime when the user boards the vehicle 2, and the scheduled exit locationof the user. Then the processor 243 causes the navigation system tosearch for the travel route from the position of the vehicle at the timewhen the user boards the vehicle 2 to the scheduled exit location of theuser. In addition, as described above, the processor 243 may receive thetravel route from the server 3 via the communication network 4, and thelike.

The processor 243 controls autonomous-driving of the vehicle 2 such thatthe vehicle 2 travels along the found travel route. Here, the processor243 controls autonomous-driving of the vehicle 2 according to the travelinstruction in the validity term or the validity section of the travelinstruction received from the server 3. For example, when the travelinstruction designates a lane on which the vehicle 2 travels, theprocessor 243 controls the steering wheel of the vehicle 2 such that thevehicle 2 travels on the designated lane by performing a lane detectingprocess on the outside-vehicle image and detecting the designated laneshown on the outside-vehicle image. In addition, when the travelinstruction designates the upper limit of the vehicle speed, theprocessor 243 controls the power-train and brake mechanism of thevehicle 2 such that the speed of the vehicle 2 is maintained at or belowthe upper limit. Further, when the travel instruction is an instructionto stop the vehicle 2, the processor 243 controls the steering wheel,power-train and brake mechanism of the vehicle 2 such that the vehicle 2is stopped at a place (for example, a road shoulder) designated by thetravel instruction. Furthermore, when the travel instruction is aninstruction to perform manual driving by the user aboard the vehicle 2,the processor 243 controls the traveling of the vehicle 2 in response tothe user's operation of the steering wheel, the accelerator, the brakepedal, and the like.

In addition, the processor 243 transmits, to the server 3, the measuredvalue of the current position of the vehicle 2 acquired by thepositioning device 23, the outside-vehicle image, the vehicle stateinformation, and the like, together with the identification informationof the vehicle 2 at predetermined intervals (for example, every 30seconds, 1 minute, or 5 minutes) via the wireless terminal 21. Further,the processor 243 may transmit, to the server 3, the travel routeobtained by the navigation system together with the identificationinformation of the vehicle 2 via the wireless terminal 21.

Furthermore, when the processor 243 senses an abnormality in the vehicle2 itself or around the vehicle 2, the processor 243 transmits, to theserver 3, abnormality sensing information including the identificationinformation of the vehicle 2, together with a flag representing thecontent of the sensed abnormality via the wireless terminal 21. Here,the processor 243 may transmit, to the server 3, the vehicle stateinformation, the outside-vehicle image, or the inside-vehicle image atthe time when the abnormality has been sensed, together with theabnormality sensing information. For example, when a value of theacceleration measured by the acceleration sensor provided in the vehicle2 is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold, the processor243 determines that an accident has occurred. Then, the processor 243includes, in the abnormality sensing information, a flag representingthat the accident has occurred.

Moreover, in case the processor 243 cannot receive a wireless signalthat includes signal state information indicating the lighting state ofthe traffic signal from the roadside unit even when the vehicle 2approaches an intersection where the traffic signal is installed suchthat the vehicle 2 is within a predetermined distance from theintersection, the processor 243 includes, in the abnormality sensinginformation, a flag representing that the signal state informationcannot be acquired. In addition, for example, when the processor 243tries to turn the vehicle 2 right or left along the travel route, and ameasured value of the distance from the vehicle 2 to an object aroundthe vehicle 2 by the outside vehicle sensor is constant, or anothervehicle around the vehicle 2, which is sensed from the outside-vehicleimage, does not move for a certain period of time, and thus the vehicle2 itself cannot move as a result, the processor 243 determines that adeadlock has occurred. Then, the processor 243 includes, in theabnormality sensing information, a flag representing that the deadlockhas occurred.

Furthermore, when the processor 243 receives a signal representing thatsome part of the vehicle 2 does not operate normally, from any of aplurality of sensors, provided in the vehicle 2, for sensing whethereach part of the vehicle 2 is operating normally, it determines that thepart has failed. Then, the processor 243 includes, in the abnormalitysensing information, a flag representing a part failure.

Moreover, when, the processor 243 is notified by the positioning device23 that a positioning signal cannot be received, the processor 243determines that accuracy of estimating the position of the vehicle 2 hasdecreased. Then, the processor 243 includes, in the abnormality sensinginformation, a flag representing that the accuracy of estimating theposition of the subject vehicle has decreased.

In addition, when the processor 243 starts the vehicle 2, and a measuredvalue of the distance from the vehicle 2 to an object around the vehicle2 by the outside vehicle sensor is constant, or another vehicle aroundthe vehicle 2, which is sensed from the outside-vehicle image, does notmove for a certain period of time, and thus the vehicle 2 itself cannotmove as a result, the processor 243 determines that the vehicle 2 cannotbe started. Then, the processor 243 includes, in the abnormality sensinginformation, a flag representing that the vehicle 2 cannot be started.

Furthermore, for example, when the number of times the strength of asound signal becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined thresholdis equal to or higher than the predetermined number of times within acertain period, the processor 243 determines that the user hasmisbehaved. Here, the sound signal represents the sound collected by amicrophone provided inside the vehicle 2. Alternatively, the processor243 recognizes the sound made by the user by performing predeterminedsound recognition processing on the sound signal, and when the number ofpredetermined keywords included in the recognized sound is equal to orgreater than a predetermined number, the processor 243 may determinethat the user has misbehaved. Alternatively, the processor 243 detectsthe posture of the user shown on the inside-vehicle image by inputtingthe inside-vehicle image into a classifier pre-trained to detect aposture of a person from an image, and when the detected posture of theuser corresponds to a misbehavior, the processor 243 may determine thatthe user has misbehaved. Then, the processor 243 includes, in theabnormality sensing information, a flag representing that the user onboard has misbehaved.

Furthermore, for example, when a sum of absolute values of theacceleration of the vehicle 2 acquired by the acceleration sensor atpredetermined sampling intervals or a sum of absolute values of a changein a steering angle obtained at predetermined sampling intervals, duringthe latest certain period, is equal to or higher than a predeterminedthreshold, the processor 243 determines that traveling control of thevehicle 2 is rough. Then, the processor 243 includes, in the abnormalitysensing information, a flag representing that the traveling control isrough.

Furthermore, when the processor 243 is notified by the user interface 22that a user aboard the vehicle 2 has sensed an abnormality, theprocessor 243 includes, in the abnormality sensing information, a flagrepresenting the content of the notified abnormality.

As described above, since a flag representing the content of anabnormality sensed by the ECU 24 or the user aboard the vehicle 2 isincluded in the abnormality sensing information, the server 3 or theinstruction operator can determine an appropriate travel instruction tothe vehicle 2.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of the server 3 that is anexample of the vehicle control device. The server 3 includes acommunication interface 31, a storage device 32, a memory 33, and aprocessor 34. The communication interface 31, the storage device 32, andthe memory 33 are connected to the processor 34 via signal lines.Furthermore, the server 3 is connected to at least one monitoringterminal 35 and at least one instruction terminal 36 via thecommunication interface 31.

The communication interface 31 is an example of the communication unit,and includes an interface circuit for connecting the server 3 to thecommunication network 4, the monitoring terminal 35, and the instructionterminal 36, respectively. The communication interface 31 is configuredto communicate with the wireless terminal 21 of the vehicle 2 via thecommunication network 4 and the wireless base station 5. In other words,the communication interface 31 passes, to the processor 34, anabnormality sensing signal, and the like, received from the wirelessterminal 21 of the vehicle 2 via the wireless base station 5 and thecommunication network 4. Moreover, the communication interface 31passes, to the processor 34, information indicating the traffic status,received from another server that informs the traffic status via thecommunication network 4. Further, the communication interface 31transmits, to the vehicle 2 via the communication network 4 and thewireless base station 5, a travel instruction to the vehicle 2, and thelike, received from the processor 34. Furthermore, the communicationinterface 31 transmits, to the monitoring terminal 35, the vehicle stateinformation, the traffic information, and the like, received from theprocessor 34, receives, from the monitoring terminal 35, an operationsignal representing that an abnormality has been sensed, and passes, tothe processor 34, the received operation signal. Furthermore, thecommunication interface 31 transmits, to the instruction terminal 36,the information indicating the content of the abnormality, the travelinstruction, the vehicle state information, and the like received fromthe processor 34, receives, from the instruction terminal 36, anoperation signal representing the result of checking the travelinstruction, and passes, to the processor 34, the received operationsignal.

The storage device 32 is an example of the storage unit, and includes,for example, a hard disk device or an optical recording medium, and anaccess device thereof. The storage device 32 stores various kinds ofinformation used in the vehicle control processing, for example,information on each vehicle 2 (for example, identification information,a current position, and a travel route), a reference table showing acorrespondence between the risk degree, allowable time, the content oftravel instruction, and the like, and the content of the sensedabnormality, the map information, information indicating the trafficstatus, and the like. In addition, the storage device 32 may store acomputer program for performing the vehicle control processing.

The memory 33 is another example of the storage unit, and includes, forexample, a non-volatile semiconductor memory and a volatilesemiconductor memory. The memory 33 stores various kinds of data, andthe like, generated during the performance of the vehicle controlprocessing.

The processor 34 is an example of a control unit, and includes one ormore CPUs and peripheral circuits thereof. The processor 34 may furtherinclude other operation circuits, such as a logical operation unit and anumerical operation unit. Then, the processor 34 performs the vehiclecontrol processing.

Each of the monitoring terminal 35 and the instruction terminal 36includes, for example, an input device, such as a keyboard and a mouse,and a display device, such as a liquid crystal display. Alternatively,each of the monitoring terminal 35 and the instruction terminal 36 mayinclude a device, such as a touch panel display, into which a displaydevice and an input device are integrated. The monitoring terminal 35 isused, for example, for detecting an abnormality of each vehicle 2 by themonitoring operator. For the above, the monitoring terminal 35 displaysthe abnormality candidate, vehicle state information, current position,map information, traffic information, and the like, received from theprocessor 34. In addition, the monitoring terminal 35 generates anoperation signal in response to an operation, by the monitoringoperator, indicating that an abnormality has been sensed, and outputsthe operation signal to the processor 34.

Moreover, the instruction terminal 36 is used, for example, for checkingthe travel instruction, determined by the server 3, to the vehicle 2associated with a sensed abnormality by the instruction operator, and insome cases, for modifying the travel instruction or giving an additionaltravel instruction. For the above, the instruction terminal 36 displays,for example, the content of the sensed abnormality associated with avehicle, the outside-vehicle image, the vehicle state information, thecontent of the travel instruction transmitted to the vehicle, theallowable time, and the like, received from the processor 34. Further,the instruction terminal 36 generates an operation signal in response toan operation, such as confirmation or modification of the transmittedtravel instruction, by the instruction operator, and outputs theoperation signal to the processor 34.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the processor 34 on the vehiclecontrol processing. The processor 34 includes an abnormality detectionunit 341, a travel instruction determination unit 342, a travelinstruction unit 343, a priority setting unit 344, and a notificationunit 345. Each of these units included in the processor 34 is, forexample, a functional module implemented by a computer program operatingon the processor 34. Alternatively, each of these units included in theprocessor 34 may be dedicated operation circuits provided in theprocessor 34.

For each vehicle 2, at predetermined intervals or whenever receivinginformation, such as the current position of the vehicle 2, theabnormality detection unit 341 detects the candidate of an abnormalitythat may have occurred around the vehicle 2 or in the vehicle 2 itself,based on at least one of the current position of the vehicle 2,outside-vehicle image, inside-vehicle image, and vehicle stateinformation that are received from the vehicle 2, and the informationindicating the traffic status and map information that are received fromanother server. For the above, for example, the abnormality detectionunit 341 inputs the outside-vehicle image or the inside-vehicle imageinto the classifier pre-trained to sense a possible cause of anabnormality at the outside-vehicle image or the inside-vehicle image,and determines whether the possible cause of an abnormality is shown onthe outside-vehicle image or the inside-vehicle image input into theclassifier. Examples of a possible cause of an abnormality may includefire, a red light, people around the vehicle 2, animals, or foreignobjects on the road (for example, cardboard boxes or fallen trees). Theclassifier may be, or example, a convolutional neural network or asupport vector machine. Furthermore, the abnormality detection unit 341detects an abnormality candidate that may have occurred around thevehicle 2 or in the vehicle 2 itself by referring to, for example, areference table showing a correspondence between the content of assumedabnormalities and a combination of the types of possible causes of anabnormality, sensed at the outside-vehicle image or the inside-vehicleimage, the state of the vehicle 2, such as the speed of the vehicle 2,indicated in the vehicle state information, the traffic information atthe current position of the vehicle 2, a road structure (for example, anintersection and a highway) shown on the map information, and the like.In addition, such a reference table is stored, for example, in thestorage device 32 in advance. Alternatively, the abnormality detectionunit 341 may detect an abnormality candidate that may have occurredaround the vehicle 2 or in the vehicle 2 itself by inputting thecombination, into a classifier pre-trained to determine the content ofthe abnormality that is assumed on the combination. Such a classifiermay be, for example, a multi-layer perceptron-type neural network or asupport vector machine.

For a vehicle 2 at which the abnormality candidate has been detectedamong the vehicles 2, the abnormality detection unit 341 outputs, to anyof the monitoring terminals 35, the detected abnormality candidate, theidentification information of the vehicle 2, the outside-vehicle imageor the inside-vehicle image acquired at the vehicle 2, the vehicle stateinformation, the current position of the vehicle 2, and informationindicating traffic status and a road structure at the current position,via the communication interface 31. Then, the monitoring operatorperforms an operation indicating that the fact that the abnormalitycorresponding to the detected candidate has actually occurred is checkedvia the monitoring terminal 35, and the server 3 receives an operationsignal in response to the operation via the communication interface 31.Then, the abnormality detection unit 341 determines that the abnormalitycorresponding to the candidate has been detected. Thereafter, theabnormality detection unit 341 notifies the travel instructiondetermination unit 342 and the priority setting unit 344 of the contentof the detected abnormality, the identification information of thevehicle 2 associated with the detected abnormality, the outside-vehicleimage or inside vehicle image acquired at the vehicle 2, the vehiclestate information, the current position the vehicle 2, and theinformation indicating the traffic status and the road structure at thecurrent, position of the vehicle 2. On the other hand, the monitoringoperator performs an operation indicating that the fact that theabnormality corresponding to the detected candidate does not occur ischecked via the monitoring terminal 35, and the server 3 receives anoperation signal in response to the operation via the communicationinterface 31. Then, the abnormality detection unit 341 determines thatthe abnormality corresponding to the detected candidate does not occur.

The travel instruction determination unit 342 determines a travelinstruction, according to the content of the detected abnormality, tothe vehicle at which an abnormality is detected by the abnormalitydetection unit 341 or the vehicle that has notified of the abnormalityamong the vehicles 2. For example, the travel instruction determinationunit 342 determines the travel instruction according to the content ofthe abnormality by referring to the reference table showing thecorrespondence between the content of the abnormality and the content ofthe travel instruction. Such a reference table is stored in advance in,for example, the storage device 32.

FIG. 6 is an example of a reference table showing the correspondencebetween the content of the abnormality and the content of the travelinstruction. Each cell of the leftmost column of the reference table 600shows the content of a sensed abnormality. Further, each cell of thesecond column from the left of the reference table 600 shows the contentof the travel instruction corresponding to the abnormality. For example,when the occurrence of an accident (including an accident occurringaround the vehicle 2 as well as an accident associated with the vehicleitself) is shown as the content of the abnormality, an instruction topull over the vehicle 2 onto the road shoulder and stop the vehicle 2 isselected as a corresponding travel instruction. Moreover, additionalinstructions to the vehicle may include an instruction to open the dooror an instruction to notify the user to exit from the vehicle 2. Inaddition, when it is shown that signal state information cannot beacquired as the content of the abnormality, an instruction to stop thevehicle 2 in front of an intersection where the traffic signal isinstalled is selected as a corresponding travel instruction.Furthermore, when a misbehavior of the user on board is shown as thecontent of the abnormality, an instruction to pull over the vehicle 2onto the road shoulder and stop the vehicle 2 is selected, as acorresponding travel instruction. Moreover, additional instructions tothe vehicle 2 may include an instruction to record the inside-vehicleimage for a certain period or an instruction to output a warning soundvia a speaker provided in the vehicle. Furthermore, when it is shownthat the traveling control is rough as the content of the abnormality,an instruction to decelerate by a designated speed is selected, as acorresponding travel instruction.

The travel instruction determination unit 342 determines the content ofthe travel instruction corresponding to the content of the abnormality,and notifies the travel instruction unit 343 and the notification unit345 of the content of the determined travel instruction, together withthe identification information of the corresponding vehicle.

The travel instruction unit 343 prepares a travel instruction of thecontent notified from the travel instruction determination unit 342.Then, the travel instruction unit 343 transmits the prepared travelinstruction to the vehicle specified by the identification informationnotified from the travel instruction determination unit 342, among thevehicles 2, via the communication interface 31, the communicationnetwork 4, and the wireless base station 5.

The priority setting unit 344 determines, according to at least thecontent of the sensed abnormality, the priority for defining the orderof notifying the instruction operator of the content of the travelinstruction, and the like, to the vehicle at which the abnormality hasbeen detected by the abnormality detection unit 341 or the vehicle thathas notified of the abnormality, among the vehicles 2. In the presentembodiment, the priority setting unit 344 determines the priority basedon the risk deuce of the abnormality and the allowable time according tothe content of the sensed abnormality. For example, the priority settingunit 344 sets the priority higher as the risk degree is higher or theallowable time is shorter.

The priority setting unit 344 can determine the risk degree and theallowable time according to the content of the sensed abnormality byreferring to, for example, the reference table showing thecorrespondence between the content of the sensed abnormality, and therisk degree and the allowable time.

Returning to FIG. 6 , as shown in the third column from the left of thereference table 600, the risk degree is represented by, for example, ascale of 1 to 10. In the present embodiment, the risk degree is set to ahigher value as the safety for the riser aboard the vehicle and thepeople around the vehicle is lower. For example, when the occurrence ofan accident is shown as the content of the abnormality the risk degreeis 10, which is the highest. In addition, when it is shown that thesignal state information cannot be acquired as the content of theabnormality, the risk degree is 8. Furthermore, when the misbehavior ofthe user on board is shown as the content of the abnormality, the riskdegree is 2 because the influence on the safety of the traveling of thevehicle is low. Furthermore, when it is shown that the traveling controlis rough as the content of the abnormality the risk degree is 1 becausethe traveling of the vehicle itself is safely controlled.

In addition, the allowable time is also set according to the content, ofthe sensed abnormality. In the present embodiment, the allowable time isset to a longer time as the abnormality has less influence on the safetyof the user aboard the vehicle and the people around the vehicle. Forexample, when the occurrence of an accident is shown or when it is shownthat the signal state information cannot be acquired as the content ofthe abnormality, the allowable time is set to 60 seconds. Moreover, whenthe misbehavior of the user on board or the rough travel control isshown as the content of the abnormality, the allowable time is set to300 seconds.

According to a modified embodiment, the allowable time may be setaccording to the state of the vehicle when the abnormality is sensed aswell as according to the content of the sensed abnormality. Here, theallowable time may be set longer as the state of the vehicle is higherin safety tor the user aboard the vehicle and the people around thevehicle. For example, even when the content of the sensed abnormality isthat the signal state information cannot be acquired, the allowable timewhen the vehicle is already stopped may be set longer than the allowabletime when the vehicle is traveling, for example, to 180 seconds.Similarly, the risk degree may also be set according to the state of thevehicle when an abnormality is sensed. Here, the risk degree may be setto a lower degree as the state of the vehicle is higher in safety forthe user aboard the vehicle and the people around the vehicle.

The priority setting unit 344 calculates the priority by, for example,multiplying the risk degree by a value (t_(max)−t)/t_(max) obtained bydividing the difference (t_(max)−t) between the maximum value t_(max) ofthe settable allowable time and the set allowable time t by the maximumvalue t_(max). For example, when the maximum value t_(max) of theallowable time is 300 seconds, the priority in which the content of theabnormality is the occurrence of an accident is 10×(300−60)/300=8. Assuch, the priority setting unit 344 can set the priority to be higher asthe risk degree is higher or as the allowable time is shorter, inaddition, the priority setting unit 344 may determine the priorityaccording to another formulation in which the priority is higher as therisk degree is higher or as the allowable time is shorter.

The priority setting unit 344 notifies the notification unit 345 of thepriority of the vehicle at which the abnormality is detected by theabnormality detection unit 341 or the vehicle that has notified of theabnormality among the vehicles 2, together with the content of thetravel instruction determined by the travel instruction determinationunit 342, the identification information of the vehicle, theoutside-vehicle image or the inside-vehicle image acquired at thevehicle, the vehicle state information, the current position of thevehicle, and traffic status on the current position, and informationindicating traffic status and a road structure at the current position.

For the vehicle 2 at which the abnormality has been detected by theabnormality detection unit 341 or the vehicle that has notified of theabnormality among the vehicles 2, the notification unit 345 notifies anyone of the instruction terminals 36 of the content of the travelinstruction determined by the travel instruction determination unit 342,the identification information of the vehicle 2, the outside-vehicleimage or the inside-vehicle image acquired at the vehicle 2, the vehiclestate information, the current position of the vehicle 7, and theinformation indicating the traffic status and the road structure at thecurrent position, via the communication interface 31. Here, when anabnormality is simultaneously sensed at a plurality of vehicles 2, thenotification unit 345 notifies any one of the instruction terminals 36of the content of the travel instruction and the like in the order fromthe vehicle with the highest priority. Here, the notification unit 345may notify the content of the travel instruction and the like to eachinstruction terminal 36 in the order from the instruction terminalhaving the smallest number of the difference (that is, the number ofunchecked travel instructions) between the number of the content of thetravel instruction that has been already notified and the number ofchecking operations performed by the instruction operator for thenotified travel instructions. As such, the abnormality with higherpriority is notified to the instruction terminal 36 operated by thestand-by instruction operator, such that the instruction operator canrespond to the abnormality in a short time.

The instruction operator performs an operation indicating that thecontent of the travel instruction transmitted to the vehicle 2associated with the abnormality is confirmed is the instruction terminal36, and the server 3 receives the operation signal response to theoperation via the communication interface 31. Then, the notificationunit 345 stores the content of the latest travel instruction transmittedto the vehicle 2 in the storage device 32 in association with theidentification information of the vehicle 2. In case the instructionoperator does not perform any operation even when the set allowable timehas elapsed after the content of the travel instruction is displayed onthe display device of the instruction terminal 36, the instructionterminal 36 may transmit, to the server 3, an operation signalindicating that the content of the travel instruction, and the like, hasbeen confirmed.

In addition, the instruction operator performs an operation indicatingthat a modified or an additional travel instruction different from thecontent of the travel instruction transmitted to the vehicle 2associated with the abnormality is transmitted via the instructionterminal 36, and the server 3 receives an operation signal in responseto the operation via the communication interface 31. Then, thenotification unit 345 causes the travel instruction unit 343 to preparea modified or an additional travel instruction in, response to theoperation signal. Then, the notification unit 345 transmits the modifiedor the added travel instruction to the vehicle 2 associated with theabnormality via the communication interface 31, the communicationnetwork 4, and the wireless base station 5.

FIG. 7 is an operation flowchart of the vehicle control processing. Theprocessor 34 of the server 3 performs the vehicle control processing,for example, at predetermined intervals according to the operationflowchart described below.

The abnormality detection unit 341 of the processor 34 detects thecandidate of an abnormality that may have occurred around the vehicle 2or in the vehicle 2 itself, based on vehicle state information on thevehicle 2, information on the surroundings of the vehicle 2, or thelike, for each vehicle 2 (step S201). Then, among the vehicles 2 atwhich the abnormality candidate has been detected, the abnormalitydetection unit 341 determines that the abnormality corresponding to thedetected candidate has occurred, for a vehicle in which the monitoringoperator has checked the fact that the abnormality has actually occurredvia the monitoring terminal 35 (step S202).

The travel instruction determination unit 342 of the processor 34determines the content of the travel instruction according to thecontent of the detected abnormality for the vehicle at which theabnormality is detected by the abnormality detection unit 341 or thevehicle that has notified of the abnormality, among the vehicles 2 (stepS203). Then, the travel instruction unit 343 of the processor 34prepares the travel instruction of the determined content, and transmitsthe prepared travel instruction to the corresponding vehicle (stepS204).

Further, the priority setting unit 344 of the processor 34 determinesthe risk degree and the allowable time for the vehicle at which theabnormality is detected by the abnormality detection unit 341 or thevehicle that has notified of the abnormality among the vehicles 2according to the content of the abnormality (step S205). Then, thepriority setting unit 344 determines the priority based on the riskdegree and the allowable time (step S206).

For the vehicle at which the abnormality has been detected by theabnormality detection unit 341 or the vehicle that has notified of theabnormality, among the vehicles 2, the notification unit 345 of theprocessor 34 notifies any of the instruction terminals 36 of the contentof the travel instruction, and the like, in the order from the vehicle 2with the highest priority, via the communication interface 31 (stepS207). Then, the notification unit 345 determines whether the travelinstruction has been modified or added by the instruction operator viathe instruction terminal 36 (step S208). When the travel instruction hasbeen modified or added (Yes in step S208), the travel instruction unit343 prepares the modified or added travel instruction, and transmits theprepared travel instruction to the corresponding vehicle (step S209).After step S209, or when the travel instruction transmitted is confirmedby the instruction operator at step S208 (No in step S208), theprocessor 34 ends the vehicle control processing.

As described above, when an abnormality occurs around the one or moreautonomous driving vehicles or in the autonomous driving vehiclesthemselves, the vehicle control device prepares a travel instructionaccording to the abnormality, and transmits the prepared travelinstruction to the autonomous driving vehicles associated with theabnormality. As such, the vehicle control device can remotely controlthe autonomous driving vehicle associated with the abnormality. Inaddition, the vehicle control device sets the priority based on the riskdegree and the allowable time according to the abnormality that hasoccurred, and notifies the instruction operator of the content of thetravel instruction transmitted to the autonomous driving vehicle in theorder from the vehicle associated with the abnormality having thehighest priority. When the instruction operator checks the content ofthe travel instruction and determines that it is better to modify thecontent of the travel instruction, the vehicle control device preparesthe travel instruction modified in response to the operation by theoperator, and transmits the modified vehicle instruction to theautonomous driving vehicle via the communication network. As such, thevehicle control device can appropriately control the autonomous drivingvehicle even when any abnormality occurs around the autonomous drivingvehicle or in the autonomous driving vehicle itself.

Moreover, according to a modified embodiment, the notification unit 345may notify any of the instruction terminals 36 of the content of thetravel instruction before the travel instruction prepared by the travelinstruction unit 343 is transmitted to the vehicle 2 associated with theabnormality that has occurred. Then, after the instruction operatorchecks or modifies the content of the travel instruction via theinstruction terminal 36, the travel instruction unit 343 transmits thechecked or modified travel instruction to the vehicle 2 associated withthe abnormality that has occurred. Alternatively, the processor 34 maydetermine whether the notification unit 345 notifies the content of thetravel instruction to any one of the instruction terminals 36 after orbefore the travel instruction unit 343 transmits the travel instructionto the vehicle 2 associated with the abnormality that has occurred,according to the content of the abnormality that has occurred. Forexample, when the content of the abnormality does not affect the safetyof the user on board and the people around the vehicle 2 even if thevehicle 2 does not receive the travel instruction (for example, when therisk degree according to the content of the abnormality is equal to orless than the predetermined threshold, and specifically, when thecontent of the abnormality is a misbehavior of the occupant), thenotification unit 345 notifies the content of the travel instruction toany or the instruction terminals 36, the instruction operator checks ormodifies the travel instruction and, then the travel instruction unit343 transmits the checked or modified travel instruction to the vehicle2 associated with the abnormality that has occurred. Conversely, whenthe content of the abnormality may affect the safety of the user onboard and the people around the vehicle 2 if the vehicle 2 continues totravel autonomously (for example, when the risk degree according to thecontent of the abnormality is higher than the predetermined threshold,and specifically, when the content of the abnormality is the occurrenceof an accident), the travel instruction unit 343 transmits the travelinstruction and then the notification unit 345 notifies any of theinstruction terminals 36 of the content of the transmitted travelinstruction for checking, in the same manner as in the above embodiment.

According to another modified embodiment, the priority setting unit 344may set the priority directly based on the content of the notified orsensed abnormality. In this case, for example, the reference tableshowing the correspondence between the content of the abnormality andthe priority is stored in advance in the storage device 32. Then, thepriority setting unit 344 sets the priority corresponding to the contentof the notified or sensed abnormality by referring to the referencetable. Alternatively, the priority setting unit 344 may set the prioritybased on one of the risk degree and the allowable time corresponding tothe content of the notified or sensed abnormality. In this case, forexample, the priority setting unit 344 may set the risk degree itself asthe priority, or may set the reciprocal of the allowable time as thepriority.

Further, according to yet another modified embodiment, for each ofspecific abnormality candidates or specific situations of the vehicle 2(for example, a situation where the vehicle turns right or the trafficsignal at the intersection ahead of the vehicle 2 is in a predeterminedlighting state), a monitoring terminal 35 may be provided. In this case,the abnormality detection unit 341 notifies the detected abnormalitycandidate to the monitoring terminal 35 corresponding to the detectedabnormality candidate or the situation of the vehicle 2 among theplurality of monitoring terminals 35. In addition, the abnormalitydetection unit 341 determines whether the vehicle 2 is in a specificsituation by, for example, determining whether the current position ofthe vehicle 2 corresponds to a specific situation, such as a right turnpoint on the travel route, indicated in the map information, or, forexample, determining whether the lighting state of the traffic signalindicated by the signal state information notified from the vehicle 2corresponds to a specific situation. As such, the monitoring operatorchecks whether the notified abnormality candidate has actually occurred,paying attention to the specific abnormality candidate or the specificsituation. Therefore, the accuracy of detection for an abnormality isfurther improved.

Similarly the instruction terminal 36 may be provided for each piece ofspecific content of an abnormality or specific situations of the vehicle2. Then, the notification unit 345 notifies the travel instruction, orthe like to the instruction terminal 36 corresponding to the content ofthe abnormality or the situation of the vehicle 2 among the plurality ofinstruction terminals 36.

According to still another modified embodiment, the abnormalitydetection unit 341 may determine that the detected abnormality candidateitself is the abnormality that has occurred. In this case, themonitoring terminal 35 may be omitted.

According to even still another modified embodiment, the travelinstruction determination unit 342 and the travel instruction unit 343may prepare a travel instruction to another vehicle located around thevehicle 2, instead of the vehicle 2 itself from which the abnormalityhas been sensed or notified, and transmit the prepared travelinstruction to another vehicle via the communication network 4 and thewireless base station 5. For example, when the content of theabnormality is that the vehicle cannot be started, another vehicleparked within a predetermined range (for example, 5 m or less) from thevehicle 2 associated with the abnormality is specified by referring tothe current position of the vehicle 2 associated with the abnormalityand the current positions of other vehicles. Then, the travelinstruction determination unit 342 and the travel instruction unit 343transmit a travel instruction to travel by the designated distance tothe specified another vehicle.

A computer program that causes a computer to perform the vehicle controlprocessing executed by the processor 34 of the server 3 may be recordedin for example, a recording medium, such as an optical recording mediumor a magnetic recording medium and thus distributed.

As described above, those skilled in the art can make variousmodifications to the embodiment to be implemented within the scope ofthe present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle control device, comprising: acommunication interface configured to communicate with a plurality ofautonomous driving vehicles configured to perform autonomous traveling;and a processor configured to: when an abnormality occurs in or aroundat least one first autonomous driving vehicle among the plurality ofautonomous driving vehicles, determine a travel instruction forcontrolling traveling of each of the at least one first autonomousdriving vehicle; transmit the travel instruction to each of the at leastone first autonomous driving vehicle via the communication interface;cause an electronic control unit of each of the at least one firstautonomous driving vehicle to control traveling of the at least onefirst autonomous driving vehicle based on the travel instruction; set apriority representing a degree of priority in which an instructionterminal including a display device and an input device is notified ofthe travel instruction in an order determined according to content ofthe abnormality, for each of the at least one first autonomous drivingvehicle; notify any one of at least one instruction terminal of thedetermined travel instruction to the first autonomous driving vehicle,among the at least one first autonomous driving vehicle, in the order ofpriority; receive a result of checking the determined travel instructionfrom the at least one instruction terminal; calculate the priority bymultiplying a risk degree by a value obtained by dividing a differencebetween a maximum value of a settable allowable time and an allowabletime by the maximum value, wherein the risk degree represents a degreeof risk that is determined according to the content of the abnormalityof the first autonomous driving vehicle, and wherein the allowable timeis an allowable time for checking the travel instruction to the firstautonomous driving vehicle; and increase the priority as the risk degreeincreases or the allowable time decreases.
 2. The vehicle control deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein: the communication interface is configuredto receive state information indicating a state of the first autonomousdriving vehicle at a time when the abnormality occurs, for each of theat least one first autonomous driving vehicle; and the processor isconfigured to set the allowable time according to the state of the firstautonomous driving vehicle indicated in the state information of each ofthe at least one first autonomous driving vehicle.
 3. The vehiclecontrol device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configuredto, according to the content of the abnormality of each of the at leastone first autonomous driving vehicle, determine whether to notify thetravel instruction to any one of the at least one instruction terminalafter or before transmitting the travel instruction to each of the atleast one first autonomous driving vehicle.
 4. The vehicle controldevice according to claim 3, wherein the processor is configured to,when the content of the abnormality is a misbehavior of an occupant,notify the determined travel instruction to any one of the at least oneinstruction terminal, receive, before transmitting the determined travelinstruction to the first autonomous driving vehicle, the result ofchecking the determined travel instruction from the at least oneinstruction terminal, and transmit, to the first autonomous drivingvehicle, a travel instruction determined based on the checking result.5. A vehicle control method, comprising: determining, when anabnormality occurs in or around at least one first autonomous drivingvehicle among a plurality of autonomous driving vehicles that isconfigured to perform autonomous traveling, a travel instruction forcontrolling traveling of each of the at least one first autonomousdriving vehicle; transmitting the travel instruction to each of the atleast one first autonomous driving vehicle via a communication interfaceconfigured to communicate with the plurality of autonomous drivingvehicles; causing an electronic control unit of each of the at least onefirst autonomous driving vehicle to control traveling of the at leastone first autonomous driving vehicle based on the travel instruction;setting a priority representing a degree of priority in which aninstruction terminal including a display device and an input device isnotified of the travel instruction in an order determined according tocontent of the abnormality, for each of the at least one firstautonomous driving vehicle; notifying any one of at least oneinstruction terminal of the determined travel instruction to the firstautonomous driving vehicle, among the at least one first autonomousdriving vehicle, in the order of priority; receiving a result ofchecking the determined travel instruction from the at least oneinstruction terminal, calculating the priority by multiplying a riskdegree by a value obtained by dividing a difference between a maximumvalue of a settable allowable time and an allowable time by the maximumvalue, wherein the risk degree represents a degree of risk that isdetermined according to the content of the abnormality of the firstautonomous driving vehicle, and wherein the allowable time is anallowable time for checking the travel instruction to the firstautonomous driving vehicle; and increasing the priority as the riskdegree increases or the allowable time decreases.
 6. A vehicle controlsystem comprising: at least one first autonomous driving vehicle among aplurality of autonomous driving vehicles that is configured to performautonomous traveling; and a vehicle control device configured tocommunicate with the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles via acommunication network, wherein the vehicle control device includes aprocessor, and the processor is configured to: when an abnormalityoccurs in or around the at least one first autonomous driving vehicleamong the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles, determine a travelinstruction for controlling traveling of each of the at least one firstautonomous driving vehicle; transmit the travel instruction to each ofthe at least one first autonomous driving vehicle via a communicationinterface; cause an electronic control unit of each of the at least onefirst autonomous driving vehicle to control traveling of the at leastone first autonomous driving vehicle based on the travel instruction;set a priority representing a degree of priority in which an instructionterminal including a display device and an input device is notified ofthe travel instruction in an order determined according to content ofthe abnormality, for each of the at least one first autonomous drivingvehicle; notify any one of at least one instruction terminal of thedetermined travel instruction to the first autonomous driving vehicle,among the at least one first autonomous driving vehicle, in the order ofpriority; receive a result of checking the determined travel instructionfrom the at least one instruction terminal; calculate the priority bymultiplying a risk degree by a value obtained by dividing a differencebetween a maximum value of a settable allowable time and an allowabletime by the maximum value, wherein the risk degree represents a degreeof risk that is determined according to the content of the abnormalityof the first autonomous driving vehicle, and wherein the allowable timeis an allowable time for checking the travel instruction to the firstautonomous driving vehicle; and increase the priority as the risk degreeincreases or the allowable time decreases.